|
| Puerto Vallarta |
| August 10th -
16th, 2003 |
FROM THE CANADIAN CONSULATE IN
PUERTO VALLARTA
Opening of a full time position: Consular
Assistant
Interested?
Excellent speaking and writing skills in English are
essential, knowledge of French desirable. Please Email
Mr. David Marion, Mission Human Resources officer, and
request the job poster in order to obtain the complete
information on the position. Job poster also available
at the
Canadian Consulate.
David Marion / The Canadian Embassy
in Mexico City :
e-mail:david.marion@dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Canada Consulate in Puerto Vallarta:
Edificio Obelisco , 1951 Francisco Medina Ascencio Blvd.,
Local 108 (Beside Coppel)
************
 |
"Puerto
Vallarta Honorary Consul Lyne Benoît and
daughter Marianick receiving award for consular
excellence from Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs" |
We wish to thank all who have helped
us and supported us this last month during the various
activities, as they always do. For those who could not
be present, we are sending you photos of the inauguration
of our new offices.
I would also like to inform you
that I will be away on holidays in Canada from August
16th to September 14th.
To all who joined us in the celebration
of Canada Day at Oasis Restaurant, we would like to
inform you that we raised $7,950. Pesos for the Refugio
Infantil Santa Esperanza Children’s Shelter through
the sale of the raffle tickets that day.
Thank you all.
Lyne Benoît, Honorary Consul
City Collects 36 Million Pesos in Real
Estate Taxes
The fiscal value of Puerto Vallarta
is increasing year by year. The real estate industry
is doing well and 36 Million Pesos in property taxes
have been added to the city coffers during the first
six months of this year. In 2000, revenue from such
property taxes amounted to 24 Million Pesos, in 2002,
it increased to 48 Million.
The lack of technology in the cadastral
departament of City Hall is hampering the collection
of more than 50 Million Pesos still due, that could
be used for public works. The head of that department
said that this money was not collected because there
is no exact report of outstanding accounts in payments
of property taxes as most of the information is kept
by the town’s “Apremios” department.
He went on to explain that the backlog is due to the
lack of adequate equipment and technology needed to
improve the information and consequently the collection
programs.
New Service Number for City Hall
City Hall’s “Attention
and Service” phone (223-2424) is proving to be
quite an efficient tool for the community to channel
its reports and requests for improvements. 80% of the
calls received over the first three weeks of the number’s
operation were resolved, most of them immediately. Most
calls involved the municipal Public Services Department,
Parks & Gardens, street lighting, Public Works,
etc.
Work Still To Be Done On Footbridge
If City Hall still has not ordered
work to be suspended on the construction of the pedestrian
bridge over the Rio Cuale, it is because there is still
work to be done that was included in the contract signed
with the Construcciones Litoral Vallarta company. Vallarta
Mayor Ignacio Guzmán García stated that
the city had indeed spent the budget it had allocated
to the project, but the company used it in areas that
were unauthorized. Revision of the work already executed
and the funds spent has already begun. It is being done
by a third-party company hired by the Department of
Urban Development of the State of Jalisco.
Actual Taxi Rates Unauthorized by Government
The rates charged by taxi drivers
in Puerto Vallarta are illegal because they were not
approved by the government of the State of Jalisco.
They have increased at least 33 percent since 1999 without
previous authorization from the state government. This
has occurred because passengers in Vallarta are being
charged without taxi meters - which are in fact required
by law. As there are no taxi meters, the unions and
taxi organizations drew up a rate schedule that they
have been modifying with time, without the authorization
of the state government that is the highest authority
in the realm of public transportation of passengers.
In March 1999, they raised the minimum rate to 15 Pesos,
while remaining “flexible” with local users,
whom they were charging 11 or 12 Pesos in the central
area of town.
La Dolce Vita Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Even though it was raining that night
last week, the many guests and friends of La Dolce Vita
didn’t seem to mind one bit. They were treated
to a huge banquet and the best of drinks to celebrate
the restaurant’s 10th anniversary.
Folks came dressed in 70’s
outfits, very retro, the feel was disco and the music
was provided by the rock group “Super Specie”.
The buffet was laden with the high quality dishes for
which the restaurant has become famous and the party
continued into the wee hours of the morning.
Congratulations to all, and here’s
to many more!
Distribution of Safety Manuals
The city’s Public Safety, Transit
and Fire Department La Dirección is distributing
a flyer among residents that contains recommendations
to be followed in places such as homes, in the streets,
the sidewalks and while driving. This is the “Manual
Técnico de Seguridad para la Aplicación
de Medidas Preventivas” (Technical Safety Manual
for the Application of Preventive Measures).
Some of the preventive recommendations
to implement in the home deal with the installation
of entrance doors with reinforced locks, windows with
metal protection, etc. If you find a lock that has been
forced upon returning home, do not go in. Call the police
immediately. Install peep holes in the entrance door.
Keep valuables in secure places.
In the street, it is recommended
that you do not wear beautiful jewelry, avoid keeping
the address of your home together with your keys, make
sure that you are not being followed or watched by suspicious
individuals. Avoid walking in dark alleys, avoid taking
shortcuts by going through wooded areas, poorly lit
alleys, parking lots, or vacant lots. Avoid talking
to strangers.
Vallarta Promoted on TV, Radio and Cable
Television producers were in town
last week to prepare three programs that will be broadcast
on Cable TV, to provide special promotion for this destination.
The crews were from the SPAN Network and KHTV channel
in Atlanta. , dijeron tener varias ideas para destacar
a través de reportajes las maravillas de este
puerto.
A spokesman for the Tourism Trust
said that two separate advertising campaigns costing
16 Million Pesos began recently in order to promote
the Puerto Vallarta name both nationally and abroad.
He explained that this was accomplished through a coordinated
joint effort of the municipal Tourism Trust and the
federal Council for the Promotion of Tourism.
The national campaign was began last
week while the international one is set to start in
September.
“Guardians of the Bay” To
Watch Over Vallarta’s Beaches
The advertising company “Promo
Playa” asked for the City Council’s approval
to install 5 lifeguard watchtowers on the beaches at
various points of the coast. It reached an interesting
agreement with the Council to execute the project in
this town. The trial period will last 5 months and if
it proves to be efficient and convenient for the administration,
it will continue past such time.
Irrefutable Accomplishments of the Present
Administration
The growth and development of Puerto
Vallarta over the last nine years are irrefutable in
matters of basic services such as electricity, sewage,
streets, urban planning and education.
According to a comparative statistical
study conducted by the Jefatura de Control y Seguimiento
del Ayuntamiento, the accomplishments of the various
municipal administrations from 1995 to date have been
exponentially greater than those prior to such year.
More specifically the administration
presently under the leadership of mayor Ignacio Guzmán
García has set new records with regard to basic
services.
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